Dilemmas in managing projects in a dynamic environment

In organizations, projects and programs are often used for change management and are also affected by change. The project1 should contribute to the learning ability of the organization. To control these changes, various measures and techniques can be used. The Dutch government introduced a preventive tool to increase the probability of success of high-risk projects called the Gateway Review Method with a focus on learning aspects rather than control aspects. A review of this method and its practice over the years has identified a number of tensions. In this article we outline some of the major items for managing dynamic change and addressing some dilemma that we believe are encountered in most project settings. We found three dilemmas related to planning and dynamic change environments: (1) the change strategy used; (2) the governance structure; and (3) the risk and uncertainty management structure. Provided are some thoughts and potential developments in managing these dilemmas.